The sport of bowfishing has increased markedly in recent times. Many field game hunters, faced with a very short season, have sought a year round supplement to the short game season typically occurring in the fall. One particular sport adjunct to bow hunting is fishing with bow and arrow. The present disclosure is directed to an improved tip for an arrow used in bowfishing. It is particularly advantageous in light of the fact that bowfishing can now be undertaken substantially throughout the year. One aspect of bowfishing which is available year round is the hunting of trash fish such as various types of carp, alligator gar, etc. all for the purpose of protecting game fish. Generally, regulatory agencies permit the taking of trash fish at all times of the year without limit.
The present apparatus has a barbed tip including a positive latch which assures proper barb latching when the arrow strikes a trash fish. Their skin may vary in toughness, but is particularly important to include a barb which will snag after entry when either passing all the way through the fish or pulling out after a glancing blow. As to the latter point, most bow fishing involves rather quick shots upward of 20 meters with a trajectorory low to the water and hence optimum aim and impact is difficult to obtain. As the trash fish become bigger, they become much tougher, and possibly even more crafty. It is desirable to utilize a barb having a latch mechanism which is positive to assure that the arrow will stay lodged in the target fish and thereby not escape. On the other hand, the barb must unlatch to permit retrieval of the arrow after the fish has been retrieved and boated. It is therefore an object of the present disclosure to provide an arrow tip having a positive latching barb to assure barbed engagement of the fish until the fish has been boated and which barb can then be hand disengaged to permit easy retrieval of the arrow from the fish. There are other presently available arrow tips having spring wire barbs which rotate from a forward position to a rearward position. However, in one variety or another, they require unscrewing to operating or alternatively they are so loose that they tend to flop without control. The present apparatus utilizes a simple latch mechanism not requiring screws or threaded members so that the barb simply unlatches, swings 180.degree. in rotation, thereby permitting retrieval of the tip through the captured fish, and easy reinstallation. When the barb is in the latched position, it is held positively. When the barb is in the second position, it is free to rotate. Shifting between the two positions is accomplished typically with a knife blade or other metal instrument for easy switching. At the time of latching, the protruding spring wire barb is rakishly swept backwardly from the tip to assure proper operation; it is almost impossible to loose the spring wire barb from the tip of the present invention.